Dive Brief:

• The NutriSavings app is offered as an employee benefit. Workers from participating companies are given incentives and individualized marketing messages to reward healthy eating.
• Nutrisavings is a joint venture from two Massachusetts-based companies: Edenred, a health-benefits company, and SavingStar, a digital-coupon company.
• A handful of retailers in New England are supporting the app: Stop & Shop, Roche Bros, Big Y, Wegman's and Hannaford.

Dive Insight:

NutriSavings is one of those ideas that is clearly wonderful. So we have to wonder what's wrong with us that the idea of an app that tracks our food purchases gives us the creeps. NutriSavings says no individual shopping data is given to employers. Your boss will never know about your Twinkie fetish. But your boss will be given aggregate data about employees -- data that can be used to drive reductions in healthcare costs. So if everyone in your office has a thing for soda, the boss may decide to cut calorie consumption by eliminating vending machines, or just sending endless messages through the app and the employee newsletter about the advantages of drinking water. That may be good for us, but it sure feels a little intrusive.